Australian news, and some related international items

The USA’s propaganda machine in action in Australian media

WikiLeaks cables show how Australia works with the US to get Iran, Green Left 6 Sept, 12, “……..Propaganda As well as efforts to contain discussions inside the conference, cables detail the “public diplomacy outreach” methods the US could employ to push its agenda outside the Conference. A cable said the US Deputy Chief of Mission in Canberra: “thought it might be good to produce a documentary laying out Iran’s history of supporting Hizbollah and other terrorists, and then ask viewers to consider what it would mean to have a nuclear-armed Iran. Luck [Ambassador At-Large for Counterterrorism] agreed – so long as the USG itself did not make the documentary”.

In a later cable the US Embassy answered questions from the US government about “the most useful ways to convey the U.S. message on NPT issues to the Australian public”, such as the use of a Digital Video Conference (DVC): “The host government is firmly on board with USG policy and does not require further outreach, but think tanks, specific journalists and universities in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne could be targeted , particularly on the need to focus on the “crisis pillar” of the NPT, which is not disarmament, but nonproliferation. Another option would be to arrange a DVC just for journalists with an eye towards placement of articles based on the discussion.”

The Embassy went on to recommend: “Articles and editorial pieces by very senior US officials for our Office of Public Affairs to place in “The Australian,” “The Sydney Morning Herald,” “The Age,” “The Daily Telegraph” and the “Australian Financial Review,” among others. … While providing the U.S. record on disarmament, the articles should also highlight the need for noncompliant states to be put under the international spotlight during the Review Conference.”